


The Red and the Black

by ughiguess



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dubious Ethics, F/M, Interrogation, Pregnancy, Redemption, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29471628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ughiguess/pseuds/ughiguess
Summary: For Loki Odinson and Natasha Romanov, revenge and redemption are complicated things. Natasha has more questions for Loki after the events of The Avengers. (This started out as a playboy plot bunny but in turned into more.)
Relationships: Loki/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	The Red and the Black

Purpose. Calm, deliberate pursuit of purpose was what Natasha Romanov was feeling. Her boot heels clicked on the stone floor of Asgard’s deepest dungeon as she was escorted through a labyrinth of cells, each housing all manner of creatures visible through glass walls. Or was it glass? She couldn’t tell if Asgard was a very low tech or a very high tech place. What kind of culture fights battles with hammers and yet travels through space on some sort of cosmic yellow brick road?

Natasha had time to take in these things, the sense of urgency that had focused her during her previous interrogation of Loki on the helicarrier was now gone. Though she'd got the better of him, Natasha knew Loki was still a wily opponent. She shouldn’t underestimate him, especially since he'd yearn for revenge.

Natasha put it out of her mind, Loki needed to know she was unaffected by their past encounter. Now, she could take her time, really find out what made him tick. It shouldn’t be too hard. Apart from the surreal location, it wasn’t much different from any other interrogation.

The golden armored soldier ahead of her came to a stop outside a brightly lit square cell, its one occupant was sitting in a chair with his back to them. The prisoner looked up as the guard activated the intricate two door entryway that was designed to prevent him from escaping. Natasha recognized the set-up, both doors were never unlocked at the same time.

As soon as Loki saw who was being escorted in, his brows rose in surprise but a leer formed on his face in almost the same instant.

The guard motioned her into the chamber and as she stepped inside, she noticed that though its floor and walls were Spartan white, the cell was spacious and well furnished with tasteful and unique objects. Typical, she thought, mentally rolling her eyes, even in prison, Loki was being treated like a prince.

She made sure to watch him the whole time as she was coming through. She stood still as the door closed down behind her and heard a large bolt sliding into place. She watched Loki calmly put the book aside. He hadn’t bothered to mark the page, she noticed, his eyes had never left hers. He stood, and for an absurd moment she wondered if it was because there was a lady present, she’d noticed his courtly mannerisms from the moment she’d first seen him back on Earth.

Natasha stepped into the cell as soon as the door finished opening. Loki dipped his head in acknowledgment of her and said, “Agent Romanov.” He pronounced her name in a momentous tone, almost but not quite threatening. He gestured vaguely around him and smiled. “It seems we always meet like this.”

If this was how he wanted to play it, fine. She needed something from him, and wasn’t exactly in a position to annoy him, but he’d made it clear that a little banter was welcome. Besides, he’d never respect her if she seemed too polite or desperate. Natasha made a show of giving him a once over.

“I have to admit, I kind of miss the chains and gag I last saw you in,” she said, casually smug. She smiled and added, “You wore it well.”

To her surprised he just smirked and replied, “It wasn't my first time.”

Touché.

Loki offered her a chair but she ignored it, preferring to stroll the cell slowly. Natasha watched him cautiously. He was clad in what she thought of as cliché villain black, though looking down at her own uniform, she couldn’t exactly judge him.

“I’m sure you’d rather we skipped any niceties,” she said. Loki didn’t seem offended so she continued. “As you can probably guess, I’m here for more information. I need to know everything about the scepter. We’ve been analyzing it for the last two weeks, but we need to know more. I also want to know everything you know about your allies, the invading alien army: where they came from, the hierarchy of their command, their weaponry and communications infrastructure, everything.”

“And what do I get in return?” he asked, skeptically. “Is _this_ when you offer to let me out?”

“No,” she said, watching him carefully. “We can skip the mind games too. I don’t think you want a repeat of last time. Just tell me what I need to know,” she said, try to sound reasonable.

“Out of the goodness of my heart?” he suggested.

“Out of the desire not to be embarrassed again,” she corrected, pleased with herself.

“Embarrassed? Not very,” he said, unabashed. “I think Midgardians call what you made a _Pyrrhic victory_. Your little show of contrition cost you a lot, and earned you very little.”

“I wouldn’t say it was little,” she said, trying not to sound satisfied, not knowing where he was going with this.

“No?” he asked, as if he knew a secret and was about to let her in on it. ”What of value did I really tell you? What effect did it have? Knowing my intention was to let Banner out of his shackles, what good did it do you to know my plan? It gave you five minutes warning, to try to prevent escalation.” His voice turned almost to pity as he continued, his eyes never leaving hers. “But it didn't work, did it? The beast broke loose anyway. So what victory did you win over me when you came down to my cell? At the time, how did it feel? Did it make you feel powerful? Do you feel powerful now?”

He let the question hang in the air for a moment before he continued. She watched him in silence, knowing he wasn’t finished. But in contrast to his words, his tone wasn’t urgent or vicious. “I'll get you back for even thinking you got one over on me, Agent Romanov. I ask again, what are you offering me?”

“I’m not authorized to give you revenge,” she quipped.

“Don’t be so sure,” he said, quietly.

To respond to that would have been pointless. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being intrigued when he was acting cryptic. “And again, I can’t let you out.”

”Good,” he said, unexpectedly, “Because even if you could let me out of this cell, this cell is exactly where I want to be right now.”

Natasha didn’t know exactly what that meant, but if Loki was afraid of something out in the universe, something that being deep within the fortress of the Asgard was protecting him from, it was clear they should all be afraid. She made a note to add that to her line of questioning once the deal was made. She looked around and realized he already had it a lot more comfortable than any prisoner she’d ever seen but it was worth a shot.

“Maybe there’s something that might make your stay a little more comfortable? Or maybe less boring?”

“I’m going to be here for several thousand years, Agent Romanov. There is very little that doesn’t become boring eventually.”

"There must be something," she said neutrally.

Loki was silent for a moment, as he eyed her up and down.

"Now that I think on it, there is," he said. He neared her slowly with soundless steps. When he was close enough that she had to look up to see his face, he said, "You are smaller than I thought."

Natasha said nothing, preferring to monitor him dispassionately. She was long past being annoyed by jokes about her height.

"I imagine you're very, very tight," he continued slowly. Apparently her height hadn’t been what was on his mind. This was going to be much easier now.

"...That's what you want?" she asked. All the universe to ask for and he wanted sex? What good would that do him in the long run?

Loki’s manner was still casual, he didn’t seem desperate like other prisoners she’d questioned. He wasn’t begging her to sleep with him and he didn’t seem to take her skepticism personally. Of course, it could all be an act.

"It would hardly be the first time you sold your body for information," he stated as he took a step back, subtly reminding her that he knew far more than she would like about her past. "You have nothing to lose,” Loki continued. “I know you do not regard a simple fuck as having much meaning. And you've no worries about procreation.”

Natasha’s gaze jolted to the corridor outside the cell and she stared out without really seeing. That did affect her. Not many people knew about the Red Room, she had no prepared response for a comment like that. She hadn’t given it any previous thought but now she despised Loki for knowing that about her. When he’d said he knew ‘everything’ back on Earth, he’d meant it. He must have questioned Clint very thoroughly. As she tried to school her features back to blandness, she heard him continue, very softly.

“I'm sorry for that, by the way. I think that's a very cruel thing to do to woman."

Natasha hated the idea of being an object of Loki’s pity but she couldn’t help agreeing. It was only recently, when she’d realized that coming clean, joining the good guys, meant she might one day be able to have more than just a job, be more than just an assassin, choose to have something like what Clint had with his secret wife...

This was not good. She needed to preempt this line of conversation, get it back on track. She could choose to ignore it, ignore those feelings that interfered with doing her job. Her training in the Red Room had taught her well. 

“Natasha?” he prompted, softly, reminding her that he was still quite close.

She raised her eyes to meet his again and spoke in her usual monotone, "Don’t call me that.”

“Is that one of your stipulations?” he asked suggestively.

She ignored this too, let him think he was winning. “You're serious? Just sex?" she asked.

"Yes. Well…” he began, a devious look in his eye as he lingered on the word. She raised an eyebrow and waited. “I _would_ prefer to be on top."

The almost sheepish way he smiled managed to lighten the mood. She even huffed a small laugh.

“Of course. And what if I agreed?”

“First, we would shake on the bargain.” He offered his hand. She eyed it then reached out, fully expecting him to yank her to him to throw her off balance both mentally and literally into his arms but he didn’t. His hand was cool on hers and after the shake, he held on, slowly stepping even closer.

"Then, I would ask you how you’d like it,” he said, conspiratorially. Was he flirting with her?

"I’d get to choose?" she asked, flirting back.

"If you wanted to. However, I am more than willing to surprise you," he smirked.

"I bet you are,” she said, smiling confidently, having to look up at him again by now. This was better, more familiar territory. He’d dropped the topic of her womb quickly enough, maybe he hadn’t thought the hit had landed, or maybe he just really wanted to get laid. Natasha allowed herself to relax ever so slightly. “How do you know you'd be able to surprise me? I could have been with some very imaginative men."

"In your profession? I doubt that.” He reached up to stroke her jawline softly. “I think you did all the seducing, and not to impugn your skills but I assume most of them were easy targets. Fat, ugly mobsters; downtrodden, paper pushing government types; smarmy, low level politicians, shall I go on? I doubt the need often arises to fuck details out of some glamorous leading man or the Canadian prime minister. Did you never tire of it?" he asked, now slowly combing his fingers through her crimson hair. She permitted it, for now.

“It comes with the territory, the training. It’s a tool,” she said, neutrally. “I’ve accepted that I’m a woman.”

“You’re not a woman, you’re a weapon,” said Loki, harshly, but his tone turned seductive in her ear when he said, “I can change that...for a little while.” His arm slipped behind her and stilled. She felt it firm on her lower back, anchoring her to the floor and to him.

She could feel his solid body and the strength in the arm that held her. She considered. If sex was all he wanted it wasn’t such an unreasonable ask. She suspected it was a power trip he was really after, a way to humiliate her. But it was poor revenge. It wouldn’t really mean anything to her. In a way she was glad that this was his price. It was the best type of exchange, once and it was done, a simple line item in the ledger, instantly black, nothing she had to pay for in installments.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, stroking her arm fleetingly with the backs of two fingers. She could feel his warm breath on her neck. She looked up, challenging him with her eyes.

“I’m thinking you’re way too arrogant to be that good in bed.”

“Then say yes and find out if you’re right,” he said with a leer.

What would it really cost her? Ten or fifteen minutes under the self-proclaimed God of Mischief? He wasn’t unattractive. He had a dark and dangerous kind of allure. She could admit to herself that she was curious. Loki was watching her as she came to her decision. She readied her mental black pen.

“Okay. I’ll do it. We’re agreed?” She watched as his smile widened.

“Agreed,” he said, sounding pleased with himself.

“Alright, so let’s get started,” she said, beginning to pull away from his wandering hands. “Tell me-”

“No,” Loki cut her off firmly. He pulled her back to him so their chests aligned, barely touching. “No. I want to be sure you won't go back on our bargain,” he said. “During, or not at all.” 

“During?” she asked, surprised. That was something she hadn’t heard before.

“You’ll see. I would remind you that I am not a human male,” he said, smugly, then elaborated, “My self-control is rather more evolved.” She puzzled that over for a moment in her head before responding.

“You did say there were no men like you,” she said, keeping her tone light, more comfortable with him now that the decision had been made. “If you want to talk in the middle of sex, I guess you weren’t lying.”

“For once,” he finished for her.

“Alright. During,” she agreed. She reached up to the zip on her suit but Loki gently batted her hand away. He shook his head at her in slow admonishment. He glanced down and plucked up the zipper himself, sliding it down so slowly she felt like she could hear every tooth uncouple. When it reached just above her belt he let go and reached up to open the sides at the collar, exposing her neck to his gaze.

“I’m sure you prefer me _not_ to kiss your lips, so I shall make do elsewhere.”

As he dipped his head and began to kiss her neck, holding her skull and jaw steady with both hands, she wondered if she should be offended by that. Did he know enough about Earth culture to be calling her a whore? Or was he respecting the boundaries of their not friendly, definitely not romantic relationship?

He made the kiss last, his hot mouth massaging the sensitive skin just below her ear. He broke off after a few moments and dragged his hands down her to her chest, spreading them to peel the suit off her, he watched her eyes while he eased it down slowly, stopping at a point where her arms were trapped at her sides, gently imprisoned in her armor. Even so, if she had wanted to stop him, she had no doubt he would have let her, there had been no urgency in his actions so far.

Since her suit had a bra built in, he’d exposed her breasts and was smiling in triumph. He stepped even closer, her breasts pressed against the wool of his tunic. He reached up to run his fingers deeply through her hair.

“What an image we’ll make, red and black,” he said seductively, indicating around him with a tilt of his head. She glanced away to look. All around the cell, Loki’s neighbors were taking an interest in the show.

“Shall we let them watch?”

“It wasn’t part of the deal,” she said calmly. It was bright in the cell, the white illumination was incongruous with what they were about to do. At the moment, the rapt audience could only see her naked back but she knew Loki could change that at any moment. She felt exposed, unsurprisingly, but she refused to protest outright. Instead she said, “And it’s not exactly the best ambience.”

“I’ve seduced in worse,” Loki smirked, “As I’m sure you have.”

She smiled, reminiscing. He had her there.

“What would you prefer?” Loki said, interrupting her thoughts. “As I said, it’s your choice. Soft music, candlelight?” As he said the words, the cell faded away, replaced with the illusion of a lavish bedroom with candles casting soft light on a bed with an inviting, soft looking duvet. Before he could conjure the music of Barry White or something she intervened.

“No,” she said, simply.

“Perhaps something more thrilling,” he said, causing the room to fade and a smoke covered battlefield to appear. There was blood on the grass and the area was littered with ancient looking swords and shields. “Shall I dominate you, like some helpless Hibernian lass awarded to me as a spoil of war?”

“No,” she said again, uncertainly, looking around them, almost afraid of what he might conjure next.

“I could have you at the rites of spring,” he said, making the evidence of battle vanish. As the smoke cleared, she could see standing stones. “How would you like to be the sacrifice at my temple?”

She gave him a skeptical look that bordered on disdainful.

“Oh well, there were never any temples to me anyway,” he said, wistfully.

“How sad for you,” she mock commiserated. Of course in all of Loki’s fantasies he was the one dominating. “Let’s skip the role playing, I’m happy to be the interrogator and you the prisoner.”

Loki pouted but recovered.

“Very well,” he said, pragmatically and vanished it all, bringing the cell back. She noticed he’d made it dimmer than before and the formerly transparent walls were blurred like frosted glass. “There. No one can see you in here but me,” he assured her.

She merely nodded in response. Let him decide how to proceed. She wondered if he’d do something domineering, like dragging her to the bed. He wasn’t easy to read.

They were standing chest to chest, his hands were resting on her hips, his grip was strong. Loki took a step backward, forcing her to follow. He grinned at her when she stumbled at first, then slowly continued back until they were right up against an oversized winged back chair. He released her hips and sat down, looking upward, admiring her form. Natasha felt like she had the upper hand for a split second but it was just another illusion.

“Now you can take that off,” said Loki, gesturing to her suit. She realized it was still inhibiting her arms and she awkwardly pulled it off by grasping each sleeve in turn and yanking behind her back. Loki just sat watching, amused.

When she finished and dropped the suit beside the chair, she turned back to him. Loki reached for her, steadily grasping her by the hips and hauling her toward him, by instinct her legs spread and he sat her astride his lap. Her hands had ended up on his shoulders and he glanced at one with a smile.

He ran his hands along the sides of her thighs and she shivered. His gaze shifted to her chest and he proceeded in his slow foreplay. And it _was_ slow. Loki took his time. Happily, in her opinion, if he was kissing her, he wasn’t saying something smug so she let him continue. She intended to use the time to gather hew thoughts but he succeeded at distracting her.

She was a little taller than he was in this position, which gave Loki perfect access to her neck and collarbone and he took full advantage. His lips and hands felt amazing. He was very good at this, much better than she’d expected a spoiled prince to be. He was sucking at just the right places, at just the right pressure, letting heat and texture work their magic. Natasha was sure she’d find no marks on her skin when he was done. He wasn’t moving too fast either, more like familiarizing himself with her. She suspected he was determined to make her enjoy this. Part of her was interested to see if he could.

Though his mouth was hot, his hands were cool, and just when she was thinking how unfair it was that he was still dressed, Loki paused and quickly pulled off his tunic, tossing it away. She could see now that he was in great shape, lean with sparse hair on his broad chest.

He returned his lips to teasing her nipples, his hands started to fondle her further down, and when he squeezed her ass, her pelvis involuntarily tilted into him. He seized on it and pulled her forward, grinding her against him. Natasha could feel his hardness between them. He made an almost obscene sound of contentment. She was starting to feel hot and impatient.

“I thought you said you wanted to be on top during this,” she mentioned, trying to sound light.

“Later, I will be,” Loki said, not stopping his attentions.

“When you said ‘during,’ before, how were you defining ‘during’?” she asked.

He gave a low chuckle. “You’ll know.”

“I haven’t got all day,” she said, slowly, trying not to sound too aggressive. He paused to look up at her.

“That’s too bad, because I have all the time in the universe,” he replied. “But since you’re so eager…”

She felt a strange shift below and when she looked down she realized he had vanished the rest of his clothes by magic, it also left her staring straight into his lap, something he’d probably intended. She looked up quickly on instinct and he laughed at her as her cheeks turned pink despite her wry smile.

Contrary to what Loki had implied, Natasha had not had to go all the way using her own body more than a handful of times, more often than not feminine wiles and spiked drinks had done the trick. Even so, she was no stranger to the male body, he hadn’t flustered her. She couldn’t let him get away with that.

“You’re not _that_ impressive, I just wasn’t expecting it yet,” she explained, sounding reasonable.

“I see. You weren’t ready,” said Loki, indulgently. “We can’t have that.”

He pulled her waist even closer to him and she felt his heavy cock resting against her belly. With one hand cradling the base of her skull, he tilted her chin upward and started kissing her neck again, grinding her lower body into his, deliberately teasing her. His hand drifted around her until it was between their bodies, traveling downward fast. When he deftly found that elusive, sensitive spot at her center, she jerked upward into him and moaned.

“I suppose you weren’t ready for that either?” asked Loki, slowly stroking her folds as he stared into her eyes. “All evidence to the contrary.”

Natasha watched as he raised his hand to suck her juices off his fingers. She hadn’t really needed to see that to understand his meaning and she knew he was doing it to try to shame her.

“I’m ready. Just do it,” she said. Inwardly, she was apprehensive, it wasn’t that she didn’t think she could handle him physically, he was definitely big but not _outrageously_ endowed, but he’d been unpredictable a few times already, and Natasha didn’t like unpredictable.

Loki inched forward on the chair and lifted her into position so that his tip just nudged her entrance. He held her, hovering above him while she looked down into his eyes, there was hunger in them, and something else.

Finally, he plunged her down onto his shaft and clenched her to him with both arms, ensuring she couldn’t pull away even if she’d tried. Natasha let out a tortured noise, sharp but satisfied. It had been rough, but once she got used to it, his girth inside her ached in such a delicious way, she tried not to think too much about it. She felt self-conscious, knowing he was watching her, trying to steady her breath.

“Are you well?” he asked, his own voice a little strained.

“Yes.”

Loki stroked her spine and lazily shifted his hips for a moment, but instead of beginning to thrust he just smiled at her and said “Now it’s during.”

It took her a second to understand his meaning but she recovered quickly.

“Okay, um, I’m going to need my phone, I was planning to record it.”

“I like this deal better and better every moment,” he said, nudging forward with his hips.

“Not video,” she said, annoyed. Of course he would think that.

“Where is it?”

“My suit.”

Loki reached out beside the chair and closed his eyes for a moment. As she watched, her cell phone flew the three or so feet from her belt through the air and into his hand.

“Neat trick,” she said as he handed it to her. She started the recording and looked around her for somewhere to put the phone. There was a low table next to the chair that was made higher by a pile of books sitting on it. Setting it down on top of them, she turned back to Loki, her face all business, despite their intimate position. He was frowning at her phone but she regained his attention.

“So, you know what I want to know. Tell me everything,” she requested. “Go into as much detail as you can remember.”

When he hesitated, she squeezed with her inner muscles and his intake of breath told her he’d soon be talking. Still, she decided to sweeten the pot, adding, “The more we know, the more likely it is we’ll take out your enemies for you.”

He looked up at that. She slowly slid one hand from where it had barely moved on his shoulder to the back of his neck and started massaging it. After a moment he nodded and began. “The scepter is an alloy of four rare metals…”

As he spoke in a mesmerizing voice, Loki remained firmly inside her. His hands continued to explore her, stroking her back, neck, and shoulders while she questioned him. He played with her red hair between pauses, as if it helped him to think.

Occasionally he ground his hips into hers, tempting her with promised pleasure. The waiting was making her more and more tense, her inner muscles throbbing with his every move. By the time he finished answering her questions, he’d been inside her for over an hour and she couldn’t help but be aware that he’d been hard the whole time. She both longed to be finished questioning him and dreaded it. When he finally fell silent and she could think of nothing else to ask, she made one last effort to distract him for a little longer.

“So that's it, that's everything you know?”

“If something else comes to me during the act, I'll be sure to stop and tell you,” he grinned.

Truthfully, what he’d given her already was worth its weight in gold. She needed to get back to Earth as fast as possible.

“Okay then, surprise me,” she challenged, looking into his eyes, finding mischief and delight.

“You may regret saying that.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at the line, and if anything, it reintroduced her skepticism about his upcoming performance.

“Hold on to me,” he said, then stood abruptly, one hand on her ass supporting her weight, one on her back anchoring her to him. By instinct she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly as we walked them toward the bed a few feet away, nuzzling and kissing her jaw line as he went.

There was an awkward moment when he tipped her back and she gripped him harder as he settled them both on the bed. Natasha felt herself sink into the mattress, and was annoyed at its softness. What kind of prison sentence was this?

A second later, she registered the feeling of him on top of her, as unyielding as the bed was plush. It was not only that she was shorter than this alien man, Natasha now fully grasped how much bigger than her he was. He was heavy too, heavier than he looked. He had made no move to threaten her, but it made her hyper-aware of how vulnerable she was underneath him.

For a moment, Loki hovered above her, as if considering where to start his feast. She was grateful for a moment to adjust, with his weight on her, his hard length inside her felt bigger than before, filling her so fully. She wished he would move, do anything to scratch that itch. She felt a chill and only just noticed the sweat that had formed all over her.

Finally, Loki started to move. In this position, he was too tall to kiss her but he made up for it with his hands. They felt hot now, large and bold, touching her everywhere. He braced himself on one elbow next to her head, holding her still with his hand tangled in her hair. His hips started a rhythm of smooth thrusts, escalating their pace and power quickly.

He slipped one hand down between them to pinch and tease the sensitive flesh above where they were joined. She cried out, unable to contain it any longer.

“Ah… so you _are_ enjoying this,” said Loki, as if deeply satisfied. “I give you leave to come, I assure you I won’t start thinking it means you like me.”

“I don’t need your permission,” she growled.

“No. Just my cock,” he growled. “You’ll be thinking about this for a long time to come, Natasha Romanov, I promise you that.”

She had a dreadful feeling he was right. She only hoped it didn’t show too clearly on her face. She struggled to keep her moans and gasps under control, not only determined to hide her pleasure from him but it also occurred to her that her phone was still recording and at the moment, she had no will to stop and go turn it off.

Loki forged on, burying his forehead in the sheets next to her temple, she could feel his hot, shallow breaths against her neck as he drove into her. The friction was now so good she couldn’t hold back and came, thrashing and clinging to him, her fingernails digging into the skin of his back. Loki was shattering her skepticism. He fucked like a man with something to prove, and as far as Natasha was concerned, he’d proved it.

He kept at his task, pumping through her orgasm and then demanding another, rolling his hips into hers. She was so sensitive the new motion set her off again and she whimpered beneath him, her inner muscles squeezing his shaft. He let out a final groan and spilled himself inside her, his weight rested fully on her as he lay his head down on the bed next to hers and caught his breath.

Natasha lay in a daze, warm and satisfied. As her pulse slowed, the satisfaction turned into drowsiness. When Loki raised himself to look at her, caging her in with his arms resting on either side of her head, all she could see was his face, the curtain of his hair blocking what light remained in the cell. She couldn’t hide her exhaustion. Never had she been so tired after the act of sex. She didn’t think it was the vigor, in fact that was how she liked it, but something about it had drained her this time. Had Loki taken her life force? Was he capable of drawing it from her like an incubus? It was not in her nature or training to panic but she was tired and worry must have shown on her face.

“I’m quite sure I didn’t hurt you but are you well?” asked Loki, gently.

“Mmm, but I don’t feel right,” she mumbled.

“Tired?” he asked, as if diagnosing her.

“Yeah.” Her mind was going fuzzy, it alarmed her more than she dared show him.

“You’ve had a long day. In addition to the fucking you’ve just had, a journey on the Bifrost isn’t meant for mortals. That will have drained you too,” he said, stroking her cheek. “You should get some rest.”

“I don’t know if I can make it home,” she said, weakly, rapidly losing her pride.

“I meant you should stay right here. Sleep, I don’t mind.”

Still warm, enjoying the feeling of Loki’s weight on top of her, lulled by the sensation of his hands in her hair, it was all the permission she needed. Natasha fell asleep almost that instant.

~~~

There was a warm, heavy weight on top of her as Natasha slowly became aware of herself again. The weight had a heartbeat, it was breathing. She realized she was trapped under Loki, but she wasn’t scared. If he had been asleep it was only very lightly. The moment she began to squirm, to let him know she was awake, he raised himself on his elbows to hover over her. He smiled at her, it looked unexpectedly kind.

“Feeling better?” he asked, his voice gravely from sleep.

“Yeah,” she said, slowly, still assessing her position. She did feel much refreshed, in fact. Loki had covered them with a sheet at some point but they were still naked and he wasn’t only still on her, he was still inside her too. She was beginning to think it was some sort of fetish of his. He knew the moment she realized it, clearly amused at her predicament.

“Uh…I think you can probably…” she gestured away from her, obviously referring to where they were still joined.

“Yes, it’s finished now,” he said, with regret in his voice.

He slowly pulled out, his long presence and sudden absence made her ache with emptiness. Naked, he sat up on the bed and reached down for her clothes. There was a shimmer and they disappeared, reforming onto her body just as tight as ever, it felt strange to be wearing the thick fabric under a sheet. She rose out of the bed and collected herself, righting her hair as much as possible. She noticed the barrier was clear again, she could see the guards readying to escort her out.

“I don’t mean to be a cad, throwing you out as soon as you rise,” he said, standing up just as comfortably as if he had been unaware of his total nudity. “But I know you’re probably anxious to get back to Midgard with that information. “

He watched her, amused as she grabbed her phone and made sure the file was intact. She scanned it quickly and found it was all in order, Loki hadn’t tampered with it. She’d been asleep with him in the room, possibly for hours. He’d had plenty of time to sabotage her belongings if he’d wanted to. When she was satisfied everything was there she looked up at him.

“Okay then. I guess we’re done. Thank you for your cooperation,” she said, aware of the dig he would probably hear in that statement.

“I can be amenable… when I’m getting what I want,” he said, unperturbed.

She turned and went to the entryway, a guard on the other side set the doors in motion. As she stepped in and positioned herself, waiting for the guard, she heard Loki speak again, quietly.

“Take care, Agent Romanov.”

She didn’t react, not knowing what to say. His tone had been odd. He was probably just trying to throw her off balance. She left the cell, and Asgard, and returned to the Avengers to make her report.

~~~

**3 Months Later**

"So what is it, something I picked up abroad? I've been in South America, east Asia…” Natasha trailed off, watching Helen Cho’s face become more and more skeptical. Natasha was sitting in her examining room, feeling ridiculous wearing a paper gown and barefoot.

"I called you in here because I wanted to tell you in person,” said the doctor. “It isn’t anything like that. Frankly, I don't know where or how you would have ‘picked up’ what you have. I didn’t even believe it at first, because I've seen your previous scans.”

"What are you talking about?”

"Natasha,” said the doctor, a worried but not panicked look on her face, “You're pregnant.”

"That's not possible,” Natasha replied, calmly. “Literally, it’s not possible. I don't h-”

"You are. I double checked."

"It has to be some kind of lab error, contamination-” she suggested.

"I don't think so. I'd like to ultrasound you,” said Dr. Cho. “It may be too early to see the fetus but it will confirm that you have necessary organs.”

"If this is a joke, it isn't funny.”

"No joke, Natasha,” the doctor replied, sympathetically. “I know it’s been on your mind lately-”

“Okay, let’s do it. Show me,” Natasha cut her off, not wanting to talk about it right now. She needed to do the scan and get out of here. “This is the sonogram thing, right?”

“Yes,” said the doctor. She had Natasha lie back and bustled about the examining room readying the machine, the gel, the wand. Natasha sat back and stared at the ceiling. There was no way she was pregnant, the biology didn’t work. Maybe the lab results were mixed up, the vials could have been mislabeled, a transcription coding error could easily have occurred. No matter how much she listened to Clint and Laura talk about how much they loved having kids, that world was not for her.

“Okay, all ready,” said Dr. Cho, startling her. “This will be cold.” She raised the paper covering and began the procedure. Natasha watched the movement of the wand and listened to that eerie whooshing noise the machines made until it grated on her nerves.

“There,” said Helen, startling her. Natasha turned her head to the side and saw a picture starting to form on the snowy screen. There was something fuzzy appearing in the center of the monitor. Something that was moving. It was right there, in black and white. She rested her cheek against the bed and stared at it, her mind uncomprehending. There had to be some mistake.

"If I were religious, I might think it was the hand of god," said Helen, quietly.

Natasha’s face became blank, her eyes unfocused. No. It wasn’t possible.

Who was she kidding? It was definitely possible. 

Her silence had the doctor worried. "Natasha, are you okay?" she asked.

"I...” started Natasha in her usual monotone, not knowing how she intended to finish the thought. “I'm not...” she tried again. There was a pause while she set her jaw and swallowed. Finally, she faced the doctor and said, “I need to talk to Clint."

“Alright,” Helen said. “Let me get a print out and clean you up.”

“I’ll do that. He’s seen worse. Just print it, he’s somewhere in the building, Jarvis can find him.”

While Helen busied herself, Natasha hopped off the table and grabbed some paper towels, scrubbing the gel off her as fast as possible, as if she could scrub off what was inside her. She realized she was shaking when she tried to turn on the faucet. She toweled off her hands instead, trying to ignore the sticky residue as she grabbed her T-shirt, yanking it over her head.

She redressed as fast as possible and sat back down on the examining table and waited. It wasn’t long before Agent Barton arrived, a concerned look on his face. She realized, he’d been called to the medical section, there was no telling what he’d thought had happened, she’d probably given him a scare. When she thought about all that he’d put up with from her…

“Natasha?”

Before Clint could say more she was wrapped around him, her face hidden in his shoulder. He hugged her back instantly. She heard the door close and knew Helen Cho had made a quick exit, giving them some time alone. When Natasha felt Clint stiffen and knew he’d seen the picture frozen on a monitor by the bed. He would know what that was.

“Whose is that?”

Natasha was shaky as she looked up at him. She was on the verge of tears but not allowing herself to cry. She opened her eyes as wide as she could, a technique he’d be familiar with, he’d seen her fake it enough to know the difference.

“Mine,” she said simply.

“But that’s not…”

“Apparently it is,” she said. Clint recognized resolve when he saw it. He waited for her to continue.

Natasha took a few deep breaths before beginning again. “I need to talk to Thor. I need to go back to Asgard, right now.”

“Is that a good idea? The amazing Technicolor light beam might not be the safest way to travel right now,” said Clint, glancing at her belly. “What’s there that you need?”

It was a moment before she spoke again. She took a deep breath before starting.

"When I went to interrogate Loki...” she paused. “I told you all that his request hadn't been unreasonable and that I'd taken care of it."

Realization dawned and before Clint could stop himself, he said, "And the deal was you having his demon baby?"

"No… or I didn't think so at the time," she said. "I can't-couldn't conceive, so I thought it was perfect, it would be an isolated event, over and done with, discreet, just the kind of deal you know I like."

“He asked for sex? Really?” Clint asked, just as surprised as she had been back in Loki’s cell.

“Yes. I thought he just wanted to humiliate me. Get some of his own back. I didn’t really care. We needed the information and that was the quickest way to get it.”

“Natasha, did he hurt you?”

“No. Nothing like that,” she said quickly. “I didn’t think anything of it. But now…”

“Okay,” said Clint, sighing. He turned to the practical. “We’ll get in touch with Thor, he’ll take you. Just take it easy for a while, it might take a few days to find him. Take some time off. We’re going to figure this out.”

“Clint, don’t say a word, don’t tell him why,” she said, a little desperate. “Just tell him something occurred to me, that I have another question or something.” He looked as if he was going to argue but her eyes told him her mind was made up.

In the coming days as Natasha waited, mostly in an apartment Tony had set aside for her in the tower, she dwelled on her situation almost incessantly. Every waking hour she felt the nausea churning. It wasn’t strictly true that she hadn’t thought anything of sex with Loki. He’d made sure she would think of it frequently in the subsequent weeks. First there had been transcribing the report, reliving the noises he’d pulled from her in perfect sound quality. Later the flashbacks had come.

But since seeing the sonogram, all she could imagine was the fruit of that encounter. What was inside her? A demon, like Clint had joked? Then again, maybe it was something to do with Asgardian biology. They were technically magical beings, Loki may not have intended it. What if the child was half immortal?

No matter what the child was, genetically, it was a child where one should never have been able to be. A child, now in her womb just as tiny and ephemeral, but growing by the minute, as the hypothetical child had been in her head since soon after she’d come clean, joined the good guys, seen a life outside the subterranean spy world she’d lived in for too long.

Her thoughts shifted when she remembered that Loki had questioned Clint about that world, about all the Avengers. Clint knew more about her than he’d known about any of the others, more than anyone else in the world knew about her. Now Loki knew it too. He knew what she wanted, what she thought she could never have. This was no accident, no chance magical transference. Loki had done this deliberately. No doubt he was laughing at her at this very moment and he had a sick sense of humor.

~~~

This time, as Natasha entered Asgard’s dungeons, she had Loki’s attention as soon as the murmuring in the adjacent cells began. He watched her, making her self-conscious of the bouncing of her curls as she strode toward him. When she reached his cell and stood, ram rod straight outside it, he approached the glass barrier.

"What did you do to me?" she demanded.

To her surprise, he didn’t bother to play dumb and for the first time, Natasha Romanov was afraid of Loki Odinson. He smiled cruelly. She glared at him and braced herself for what might be coming.

“Did you really think mere sex would be the cost of my cooperation?” he said, as if he pitied her. “I can duplicate myself, you know. I’ll never long for willing company. Did it cross your mind that I was showing you what I wanted you to see? You would never have put yourself in that position otherwise. At best you thought me wounded by your pathetic attempt at mental vivisection and desperate to even the score by fucking you. You saw just another starving man in a prison cell, aroused by even a glimpse of you, but as I told you before, I am not a man,” he said, his voice turning harsh. “I am a God. A vengeful God. I too know what it's like to be _unmade_ , Agent Romanov. I saw _everything_.” He paused, smirking. “What sort of god would I be if I didn't answer a few prayers now and then?”

"Don’t try to act like you did me a favor!” Natasha shouted, furious. “How could you think up something so cruel? Why would you do this to me? This is nowhere near proportional to me making a fool of you for five minutes!” She shouted, infuriated at his audacity.

“Proportional?” he said, angrily, as if disgusted at the word. “You really don’t understand? Clearly you don’t realize how grossly you offended me with that flippant remark about your _ledger_. I reject your ledger, the whole naïve idea that redemption is a zero sum game. Nothing is that simple. Not you. Not me. Nothing,” he declared, his fierce eyes shining. “You won’t be able to put what I’ve done to you in your ledger, I dare you to try. Did I doom you? Did I redeem you? Ruin you? Reward you? You could spend years trying to decide.”

“I don’t have to,” she began, trying to regain control of the fight. “I could-”

“Don’t bother finishing that,” he cut her off. “I never said I 'fixed' you, Agent Romanov. This _will_ be your only chance. No…” he went on, smiling viciously. “I can already see that you'll keep her, and raise her, and love her and all the while trying to decide between the red and the black.”

“You’re a monster.”

“Yes. But we’re more alike than you think. Don’t think this doesn’t cost me too,” he said, lowering his voice. “I want redemption just as much as you do. But unlike you, I understand that it is far more complicated than a matter of addition and subtraction,” he said. There was a pause while he let the lesson sink in. His gaze drifted toward her belly. His voice was quite different when he continued, softly, “I’m told it involves forgiveness. Perhaps you’ll be able to tell me more about that someday.”

“You want me to forgive you? To be grateful?” she asked, sarcastically. Did she dare believe him when he said he wanted redemption? If what he had done to her was any indication, he had a horrifying way of showing it.

"Aren’t you?" Loki asked. “I didn’t only do it _to_ you, Agent Romanov. I did _for_ you. Deep down, you _are_ grateful and it terrifies you. I can see it in your eyes, you’ll _loathe_ me and _love_ me for what I’ve done to you. I’ve implanted myself forever in your head the way you dared try to do in mine. You said you couldn’t give me the revenge I wanted,” he said, self-satisfied. “You’ll give me my revenge every day until the day you die.”

Natasha stared at him, drawing in deep breaths, trying to keep calm. She was in awe how he had been able to upset her world. A god of chaos, he’d turned her life into one massive gray area. But had he actually changed anything? She’d been living in the liminal zone between having done evil and trying to do good, maybe she had just been lying to herself about the futility of her efforts.

Natasha was tired, emotionally exhausted, and had no will left to argue morality with a man no less damaged than she was. Though she was too tired to fight him right now, there were still things she needed to know. She set her jaw and looked back up at him. He was watching her, his manner mild, curious even, and thankfully didn’t press her.

“How did you do it?” she asked, calmly, making sure there was no anger in her voice. “I didn’t see you do anything, I didn’t feel anything.”

Loki gave a short laugh and smiled casually. “Do you think I have to wave my hands around to perform magic? Like the rest of me, my cock is a conduit of great power. You remember being exhausted?” he continued, “I was inside you for hours, healing where necessary, knitting together the tissues and growing them to adequacy. Inducing your fertility, making sure it took hold.”

“So, it is _mine_?”

“She is _ours_ ,” he clarified.

There was a long silence as they just looked at each other, each assessing the other and the gravity of what had been done.

“It’s a girl?” she finally asked.

He nodded. “She'll be intelligent like her father and beautiful …like her father."

Natasha begrudgingly laughed. Loki was grinning too. She’d been wrong, tired didn’t begin to cover her condition.

“But there's nothing _wrong_ with her?” she asked.

“No, not unless you count being related to me...however now that I've said that I've realized you might be justified in doing so.”

She nodded to Loki once and left the dungeons and Asgard within a few minutes. She’d had to get out of there before her treacherous heart forced her to utter the words, thank you.

~~~

Epilogue

Thor approached the brightly lit cell where Loki was sat reading in the window. He looked up, expressionless.

“Natasha has delivered a healthy baby girl,” Thor said cautiously. “She has named her Anatalia.”

“Anatalia,” Loki repeated, testing it out. “Anatalia Lokisdottir.”

“Anatalia Romanov,” Thor corrected. He’d been surprised by the tinge of warmth in his brother’s voice.

“Of course.” Loki looked pensive for a moment and then said, “Will you take her a message?”

"A message for Natasha?"

"A message for my daughter. Tell her I would go to the ends of the universe to keep her safe, which is why I am as far away from her as possible."

Thor nodded and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> Loki is a complicated and twisted individual. I think I’ve been writing him a little too domesticated so this is my attempt to mitigate that. I think he longs for someone's gratitude and respect, and sometimes he has a super twisted way of trying to get it. 
> 
> Shout out to any Canadian readers, we think of your prime minister as our Hot Upstairs Neighbor, I couldn't resist the reference


End file.
